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In other NFL cities, this would be big news. Not here. Not in Pittsburgh, where the resident NFL team has taken the concept and turned it into an art form. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the announcement of a contract extension for Coach Mike Tomlin is good news. Surprising, stunning, it’s not.

The Steelers and Tomlin now have an agreement that keeps them working together through the 2016 NFL season. For bookkeeping purposes, this deal is a three-year extension on his existing one, and the press release announcing it describes it as a “new five-year contract.” Tomlin has signed two extensions now since being hired in 2007.

In a business where a pair of socks can outlast a head coach’s tenure with a particular team, the Steelers are continuing an extraordinary run of success with the men they hire for that job. Starting with the decision to hire Chuck Noll in 1969, the Steelers have had three men coach the team, and each one has won a championship. For example, by contrast, the Miami Dolphins have had three OWNERS over that same period, yet without the similar success.

“(Stability) is certainly the hope, yes,” said Steelers President Art Rooney II. “That’s part of the thinking, that you’re hiring someone who can be here a long time. Those things are hard to predict, because coaches can have different appetites for how long they want to coach. Our goal in hiring Mike, and our belief, was that he was the kind of person we would be comfortable having be our coach for the long term.”

The Steelers accomplished that goal, but Tomlin deserves much of the credit for it. Beyond the wins – and one of those turned him into the youngest head coach to win a Lombardi Trophy – Mike Tomlin fits in, and that’s a special quality.

The ability to fit in requires a willingness to sublimate one’s ego for the good of the group, and Tomlin announced his presence in this regard back in 2007 by keeping Dick LeBeau and his 3-4 zone-blitz defense rather than change to the scheme he had coached as an assistant in Minnesota and Tampa Bay.

Another aspect of fitting in with the Pittsburgh Steelers requires an acceptance of the team’s legacy of success, and Tomlin publicly spoke of “walking past the five Lombardis” as he was in the process of leading the franchise to a sixth. Still another demands that the coach embrace the expectation where success is achieved only by winning the Super Bowl.

“Mike sure is someone who works well with us,” said Rooney. “He has been a good fit for this organization since the day he got here, but as time goes on the comfort level among all of us is very high. It’s a good working environment. Mike is one of those people who loves to come to work and can’t wait for training camp to get started, and his enthusiasm for everything we do just makes it a pleasure to work with him.”

During his five seasons with the team, Tomlin has posted a 55-25 record in the regular season, to go along with three division titles, and a 2-0 record in conference championship games at Heinz Field. His .688 winning percentage is best among all active NFL coaches heading into the 2012 season, and under Tomlin the Steelers are the only team in the league to win at least 12 games in three of the last four seasons. His teams are 31-9 at home, his teams have sent 36 selections to the Pro Bowl, his teams have fielded the No. 1 ranked defense in the NFL three times. He is one of seven coaches in NFL history to win a Super Bowl within his first two years as an NFL head coach.

But by the standards that are a way of life for the coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin truly has been successful in one of those five seasons, which is exactly how he sees it as well.

“There’s no question that wins and losses are No. 1,” said Rooney, “but in our organization in particular, there is a lot that goes into how we do things, the way we deal with our players, the culture and atmosphere we want to have here. All those things are important for us to continue to have the kind of success we’ve had, so we can build on the past and continue to have a successful future.”

Already Mike Tomlin has built on the franchise’s storied past, and since a 40-year-old NFL coach can be considered in the infancy of his career, there would seem to be a good chance he’ll be instrumental in the Steelers enjoying more successes in their immediate future.

“Mike is the kind of person who can get up in front of a room and get the attention of that room real quick. That’s what you need,” said Rooney. “You have to be someone the players are going to be tuned into day in and day out, because it’s a long season. Hearing the coach talk every day, certain guys can turn him off if you don’t have the right person delivering the message. Mike’s strength is as a communicator and as a person who understands people, in addition to everything he knows about football.”

In other words, Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers are a good fit, which led to this agreement on a contract extension.

“It certainly was a priority to have his contract extended before the start of the season,” said Rooney. “It’s the right time to do it, and it gives us another five years as a window, and hopefully this isn’t the last extension we do with him.”

If history is any indication – both Mike Tomlin’s and the Steelers’ – it won’t be.

If only they could have figured how to extend Cowher's players. That is who is really responsible for the last five years. That is supposed to be funny. I am a big Tomlin fan. I liked him from the start.

“There’s no question that wins and losses are No. 1,” said Rooney, “but in our organization in particular, there is a lot that goes into how we do things, the way we deal with our players, the culture and atmosphere we want to have here. All those things are important for us to continue to have the kind of success we’ve had, so we can build on the past and continue to have a successful future.”

Already Mike Tomlin has built on the franchise’s storied past, and since a 40-year-old NFL coach can be considered in the infancy of his career, there would seem to be a good chance he’ll be instrumental in the Steelers enjoying more successes in their immediate future.

“Mike is the kind of person who can get up in front of a room and get the attention of that room real quick. That’s what you need,” said Rooney. “You have to be someone the players are going to be tuned into day in and day out, because it’s a long season. Hearing the coach talk every day, certain guys can turn him off if you don’t have the right person delivering the message. Mike’s strength is as a communicator and as a person who understands people, in addition to everything he knows about football.”

This is key. X's and O's will only get you so far. The ability to communicate effectively to these athletes sets apart a special coach from someone who may even know the game of football from an expert level. LeBeau knows the game as well as anyone in history, but he was an abysmal head coach. Tomlin is impressive because he knows how to coach people and has the personal charisma to make them understand. I dare say, he'd be impressive at about anything he set out to do.

On Tuesday, the Steelers extended Mike Tomlin’s contract through the 2016 season. I had wondered in a post earlier in the month if it was too soon for the Steelers to consider extending Tomlin. There are some valid (albeit small on the scale) doubts about his coaching prowess by leading a team that was essentially built by another coach and whether he is truly the leader of this team (see Bruce Arians firing/retiring). Regardless of whether you agree with the extension or feel that the Steelers should have waited to see if the Todd Haley experiment pans out, you have to admire what the Steeler have accomplished with their head coaches.

Should Tomlin coach the Steelers through his final year in his new deal, then the Steelers will have had a total of three coaches in 48 years. Total. Almost 50 years. 1969-2016. That’s astounding. Since the expansion – no not the expansion of the Houston Texans, I’m talking the merger – the Steelers have had the fewest coaches throughout the NFL walk through their doors. Along with that, since the merger, the Steelers have never fired a coach. We are at a period of time in the NFL where leashes are short and at least 3-4 firings happen per season and even perhaps a mid-season boot in the rear. The Steelers? None of that.

1969, 1992, and 2007. A very unique thing has unfolded in Pittsburgh regarding the Steelers – Generational Coaching. My family is almost a perfect example of that. My dad was 19 when Chuck Knoll took the reigns of the Steelers. He didn’t quite ‘grow up’ with Chuck (being 19), but the maturity of his fandom did during Knoll’s tenure and the four Super Bowl wins under his watch. I was 12 when Bill Cowher stepped in and filled Knoll’s shoes. That was right at the time when my sports experiences expanded. I grew from just watching the Pirates and Penguins constantly to watching this guy with a mean look and a huge-ass chin constantly yell on the sidelines. And I loved every minute of it. It’s one major reason why I’m a huge fan today. So I certainly grew up with Bill Cowher as my head coach. My son is now 2 and is already watching stretches of football with his me on Sunday afternoons. If Tomlin stays in Pittsburgh for at least as long as Cowher did, then my son will be about 11 when that time rolls around. Three generations – my dad, me, and my son – have grown up (or will) with our own coaches.

I am in awe of every time I think of those 48 years and the stability that it instills in an organization. Some time ago back in the 70′s, the Rooney family figured out the perfect formula for having a physical football team with a coach to lead them to success. Sure, all three have had their low points during their time in Pittsburgh, but all three have been consistent in winning and leading this franchise to six Super Bowl victories between them. Retaining a coaches for that long speaks volumes to the kind of class this organization embodies. It also shows how amazingly good the organization is at picking out the ‘right’ coach. And, the ‘right’ coach isn’t just someone who can win a football game. The right coach is someone who promotes the philosophies of the organization while leading the team to success. Knoll, Cowher, and Tomlin all had and have that ‘special something’ about them that makes them perfect for the Steelers. They all share a common thread – class. They share even beyond that. When was the last time you heard either of these three coaches in post game interviews blame an individual or blame a group of guys on the team? I don’t think I’m too far off when I say, ‘Never.’ They take accountability upon themselves when they lose a football game and give all the credit to the players when they do. Their jobs are to prepare players to win, and if the team doesn’t then they didn’t prepare well enough. That’s selfish, shameless and just plain classy. Though Tomlin is the only one to say the exact words, they all lived by this philosophy – ‘The standard is the standard’

I hope that Tomlin continues the tradition of a classy winning football organization. I hope my son can grow up and feel proud about him the way I feel proud about Cowher and my dad feels proud about Knoll. It is in large part a reason why Steeler Nation is vast and strong. These are men we grow up with. Men we may see much like we see our own fathers.

I look forward to the next six seasons with Tomlin. Just stay classy and keep winning.